For many marijuana enthusiasts, the joy of smoking is often overshadowed by the pungent smell that lingers long after the session is over. With the rise of cannabis culture and legalization, more and more people are looking for ways to smoke weed discreetly. Sploofs, the personal smoke filters that promise to get rid of weed smell, have become a popular solution for those who enjoy smoking weed but wish to avoid the lingering scent.

Whether you’re trying to avoid detection from roommates, landlords, or law enforcement, a sploof can be a tool to help you get rid of weed smell. But what exactly is it, and do they actually work? In this article, we’ll explore the history and science behind sploofs, how to make them, and what makes a good one.

From the traditional dryer sheet to activated carbon based filters, we’ll show you how to create your own personal smoke filter and smoke weed without smelling like weed. Whether you’re a seasoned smoker or new to the scene, this article will help you find the best sploof for your needs and remove weed smell once and for all.

What is a Sploof?

It’s a device that filters the smoke produced by your marijuana, removing the strong odor and making it easier to smoke without attracting unwanted attention. It is essentially a smoke filter for weed that works by using activated carbon or other materials to trap the smoke and its aroma before they escape into the air. It can be a simple yet effective solution to smoking weed without smell, and it’s also easy to make at home.

Do Sploofs Work?

When it comes to eliminating the pungent aroma of weed smoke, the question of efficacy is paramount: do they truly work? While simply stuffing a dryer sheet in the end of a tube might offer a modicum of odor reduction, it’s a far cry from the level of filtration necessary to truly eliminate the scent.

The key to success lies in the use of activated carbon, which acts as a veritable sponge for the noxious smoke molecules, leaving the air fresh and scent-free. So if you’re looking to smoke weed without leaving a telltale aroma in your wake, be sure to opt for a filter equipped with this essential component.

So in short, yes, properly made filters can mask the smell of weed smoke. They work by trapping the smoke and neutralizing its odor through the use of activated carbon or other absorbent materials. The effectiveness will vary depending on the quality of the materials used and the design of the device, but in general, sploofs are one of the best ways to smoke weed without leaving behind a noticeable odor.

How to Make a Sploof

It’s incredibly simple, and you don’t need to be a DIY expert to get it done. Here are the steps:

1. Gather the materials: You’ll need a cardboard tube, such as a paper towel or gift wrap tube, dryer sheets, activated carbon, and a rubber band.
2. Fill the cardboard tube with activated carbon: Make sure to pack it tightly.
3. Wrap the dryer sheets around the cardboard tube: Use a rubber band to hold the sheets in place.
4. Use your new personal weed smoke filter: Inhale the smoke through the tube, and the activated carbon will filter the smoke and neutralize the odor, with the dryer sheets acting as a final gateway to mask any lingering residues.

How to Make a Sploof Without Dryer Sheets

Not a fan of dryer sheets? No problem. Just use a coffee filter or any similar material to cap off the end of your tube instead.

The activated carbon is what actually catches the odor particles. The dryer sheets might catch a bit, but mostly they just mask it.

Best Sploof

While you can easily make them at home, there are also plenty of commercially available options. Be sure to look for one made with high-quality materials, such as activated carbon, and one that’s compact and easy to use.

Conclusion

In conclusion, sploofs are a great solution for those looking to smoke weed without leaving behind a noticeable odor. Whether you make your sploof at home or buy one commercially, you can enjoy the benefits of weed smoke filter with ease. So, the next time you’re looking for a way to remove weed smell, remember the power of the personal smoke filter.

Further Reading

• Weedmaps – What is a sploof?
• Leafly – Sploofs 101

Autophagy, a concept obscure to many, is a pivotal mechanism that is vital to sustain overall health. It is the body’s method of cleansing damaged, useless proteins, cellular debris, and organelles, enabling the preservation of cellular homeostasis and thwarting the emergence of diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders.

But what if we were to reveal a natural way to escalate autophagy and enhance health outcomes? Recent studies have indicated that the non-psychoactive cannabinoid, CBD, present in cannabis may possess the ability to encourage autophagy in cells, catalyzing interest in the plant’s therapeutic applications for an array of health conditions, including age-related diseases and cancer.

Introduction to Autophagy and Cannabis

What is Autophagy? Autophagy, a cellular process, is characterized by the breakdown and recycling of a cell’s components. It is an indispensable part of cellular and overall health. It plays an important role in maintaining the health of cells and the body as a whole by helping to remove damaged or unnecessary proteins, organelles and cellular debris. This can prevent the development of diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and autoimmune diseases.

The Three Types of Autophagy

Autophagy encompasses three main forms – macroautophagy, microautophagy, and chaperone-mediated autophagy. Of the three, macroautophagy is the most extensively studied, where a double-membrane structure known as an autophagosome encapsulates and degrades cellular elements.

Cannabis and Autophagy – A Phenomenal Partnership

The endocannabinoid system (ECS), a sophisticated cell-signaling network, regulates various physiological processes, including autophagy. It is comprised of receptors, endocannabinoids produced by the body, and enzymes.

The role of cannabis in promoting Autophagy

Studies have established that cannabis, particularly non-psychoactive CBD can escalate autophagy in cells by elevating the levels of the protein, Beclin-1, crucial in the initiation of autophagosome formation. THC has also demonstrated the potential to trigger autophagy in specific cancer cells. This has led to interest in the potential therapeutic applications of cannabis in a variety of health conditions.

Potential Therapeutic Applications

Using cannabis to treat age-related diseases

Cannabis has the potential to treat age-related diseases by augmenting autophagy, which declines with age, slowing down the aging process, and preventing diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Cannabis and Cancer

Autophagy has a crucial role in cancer cell death, and cannabinoids have exhibited the ability to spur autophagy in cancer cells, making cannabis a possible therapeutic agent in the treatment of cancer.

Using cannabis to improve overall health and well-being

By promoting autophagy, cannabis may help to remove damaged or unnecessary proteins and cellular debris, which can improve one’s fundamental health.

Conclusion

In conclusion, autophagy plays a crucial role in sustaining cellular and overall health. The intersection of cannabis and autophagy holds immense potential, with CBD shown to escalate autophagy and THC demonstrating the potential to trigger autophagy in specific cancer cells. The plant may serve as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of age-related diseases and cancer and enhance overall health and well-being. Further research is necessary to unlock the full potential of this intriguing phenomenon.

Sources and Further Reading

Publications

1. “Autophagy in health and disease” by Noboru Mizushima and Daniel J Klionsky, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, vol. 8, no. 11, 2007, pp. 962–974.
2. “Cannabidiol Induces Programmed Cell Death in Breast Cancer Cells by Coordinating the Cross-talk between Apoptosis and Autophagy” by Andreas Vlachos, et al, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, vol. 13, no. 1, 2014, pp. 29–42
3. “The endocannabinoid system and autophagy: A promising partnership with therapeutic potential” by J.M. Fernández-Ruiz, et al, Autophagy, vol. 14, no. 7, 2018, pp. 1189–1202
4. “Autophagy in the nervous system” by Yuriy A. Sytnyk, et al, Journal of Alzheimer’s disease : JAD, vol. 63, no. s1, 2018, pp. S3–S12.
5. “The Role of Autophagy in Cancer” by David A. Kirsch et al, Cancer Research, vol. 74, no. 23, 2014, pp. 6875–6883
6. “Autophagy: Cancer, Other Pathologies, Inflammation, Immunity, Infection, and Aging. Vol. 1” by M.A. Hayat, (CRC Press, 2014)
7. “Autophagy and Cancer” by S.K. Kim et al (Springer, 2016)
8. “Autophagy in Health and Disease” by D.J. Klionsky (Springer, 2016)

Online Reading

Cannabinoid action induces autophagy-mediated cell death through stimulation of ER stress in human glioma cells

Autophagy: molecular machinery for self-eating

Cannabidiol promotes browning in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

The multiple roles of autophagy in cancer

Role of autophagy in aging: The good, the bad, and the ugly

There are many different products created from cannabis concentrate, and even more different things you might call it. The terminology used for concentrates can be very confusing for people who are new to the world of extracts. In this article, we’ll straighten out all the different terms used to refer to cannabis oil and what, if any, the differences in the meanings of the terms are.

Sorting through the many different terms surrounding hash oil

Unfortunately, there is no real standard in this space yet, so it’s quite common for people to use many of these words interchangeably, and even disagree on the correct usage in some cases.

I’m going to do my best to sort it out and offer the most common meanings for each term, but feel free to let me know if you’ve used a term differently, or if I missed an important term you’ve heard used.

General concentrate terms

We’ll start out by looking at terms that encompass multiple types of concentrates made from weed.

Hash or hashish

Hashish or more commonly just “hash” is probably the most general term, as well as the oldest term, for referencing products derived from marijuana.

Technically, hash refers to the resin of the cannabis plant. The resin of marijuana contains the terpenes and cannabinoids which characterize the effects that occur when ingested.

Conversationally, you will most likely to hear it referred to as old-school hash, since the newer forms are far more prevalant on the market.

Old-school hash

Old school hash is the oldest form of marijuana concentrate. It generally has a powdered or hardened brick-like consistency, and originally began as a method of making it easier to transport a product of higher value at one time.

There are a few different ways to make it, but they are all generally simple and low-tech methods. We’ll get more into some of the ways it’s made when we cover other terms, but first, let’s about its opposite.

New-school hash

New school hash refers to the newer methods of cannabis extracts which started appearing on the scene fairly recently, with the legalization of recreational cannabis in many locations. As you’d probably expect, it excludes the old school methods of extraction.

These newer extraction methods often use a solvent (although there are also solventless extracts) and pressurization to produce a product with a very different consistency than old-school hash. The consistencies can vary quite a bit, from that of a hard candy to syrup, or even powder or butter.

The result is definitely purer than old-school hash, with some extraction processes reaching 99.9% THC purity. However, more commonly enjoyed varieties usually have closer to 50-80% THC levels, which leaves some room for tasty terpenes and sometimes a bit of pain-killing CBD.

This term isn’t very commonly used in conversation, and you’re more likely to hear people refer to it as concentrate, extract, oil, or just dab.

New school hash terms

Concentrate

“Concentrate” is one of the more technical words available to describe the wide variety of products derived from cannabis, you’ll also hear it used conversationally. It actually includes any type of hash, but people using it are usually talking about new school hash.

Extract

“Extract” is another more formal word, although you may often hear it used among stoners as well. Again this word can technically include any type of hash, but more colloquially would likely refer to newer concentrates.

Hash oil or just “oil”

Oil is a bit less general of a term than concentrate and extract are, and one that’s becoming a bit rarer. It usually refers to any type of new school hash. Since most of this hash is produced very similar to produce and vegetable oils, it’s no surprise that the term made it to this industry as well.

In the early days of new-school hash, this term was probably the most common you would hear. “710” has even become the new “420” for many cannabis users who prefer concentrates, because if you turn 710 upside down it spells “OIL”.

However, more recently the term has fallen out of favor quite a bit. I recently used the term at a dispensary, and they thought I was asking for a runny consistency, which they didn’t have (and I don’t blame them, as that wouldn’t be desirable to most).

Dab

Another term for new school hash, and probably the most informal, is dab. This means anything that is “dabbable” – which is to say, you can easily vaporize it with a standard concentrates vaporizer such as a nail and rig or oil atomizer (pen vape), and little to no residue will be left behind.

Dab is a great term because it explicitly means anything you can dab and nothing you can’t, so most people who use concentrates will know exactly what you mean with this one.

“BHO” (butane hash oil)

Since butane was one of the original and continues to be the most prevalent form of  solvent used in modern extraction processes, BHO became a pretty common term. This phrase refers specifically to hash that was extracted using butane, and it’s so widely used because butane does a great job of pulling both flavor and potency.

Even though butane is used in the extraction process, as long as the result is properly purged, there should be no butane remaining in the product. For example, Washington state law requires all extracts to test out at less than 500 parts per million of residual solvents. This is not enough to do any harm and is a tiny fraction of what is inhaled with a lighter when smoking a pipe. Which is good news, since you definitely wouldn’t want to smoke any significant amount of butane!

BHO is the most widely used form of new school hash and can be used to produce almost any consistency. It also is less expensive than many other commonly used extraction solvents.

CO2 Extracts

Extracts which were pulled with CO2 as a solvent have been on the rise lately. One of the most common applications of this is pre-filled cartridges, which are probably the most user-friendly way to enjoy concentrates, though they are not without their drawbacks. You can expect to pay a little more for CO2 based extracts.

It’s competitive with BHO in the potency department, but it tends to pull less terpenes which results in less flavor.

Distillate

Distillate is an extremely pure form of BHO that is nearly clear. In fact, many people call it “clear” which originated from some early distillate branding, called “The Clear”.

While distillate is highly potent, it does not contain terpenes as they are lost in the extraction process. However, many extraction companies reintroduce terpenes to create custom flavors and highs. You can also buy extracted terpenes to be mixed back in.

Live resin

Live resin is among the most flavorful forms of concentrates. The term applies to the product of any extraction process which uses freshly cut and frozen cannabis plants. Generally, a process that preserves a high amount of terpenes will be used.

Frozen weed takes up a lot more space, which means it takes longer to process. As a result, live resin often costs twice as much as other types of extract in dispensaries.

Live resin is not necessarily more potent than standard extract, but it almost always has a much higher terpene content, making it much more flavorful and allowing one to pick out differences in the high provided by the particular strain being enjoyed much more easily.

Rosin

Rosin can be another very flavorful form of extract, and it is completely solventless. It is one of the safest, simplest and easiest methods of new school extraction. It originally started as a home project in which people would use curling irons and other household heating devices to pressurize and head small nugs of marijuana.

Simply applying heat and pressure is enough to produce a golden syrupy liquid which can then be dabbed directly, although it will often leave a bit more residue behind than other methods which are purer.

These days, it doesn’t have to be done from random parts at home. Machines can be bought from companies such as Rosin Tech and Nugsmasher which make processing larger quantities much more feasible. You can also often find rosin in dispensaries, but it is often quite expensive, even three or four times as much as the standard dab.

Live Rosin

Live rosin as you might expect combines the methods of live resin and rosin by essentially freezing the weed when it is fresh off the plant and applying a rosin press to it.

Rick Simpson Oil

A very popular type of cannabis extract is Rick Simpson Oil (RSO). Rick Simpson says he cured himself and many others of cancer using marijuana concentrate. While this is not backed by peer-reviewed studies, many swear by it.

You can’t buy Rick Simpson Oil anywhere, and you must be very careful of anyone claiming to be selling it. Rick Simpson publishes the information about how to create RSO in his book Phoenix Tears.

Nug run

A nug run is an extraction process which uses only full kolas of weed as the source. Sometimes extractions will use trim or shake, and some people prefer the taste profile that using only pure nuggets leads to.

Trim run

The opposite of a nug run, a trim run is generally considered to be of a lower quality. However, it can still be quite good, and it is often the best thing growers can do with the trimmings that are left over from a cannabis crop.

Old school hash terms

Bubble Hash or water hash

Bubble hash is probably the most “classic” form of hash, and just might be what someone is referring to if they just say “hash” without any other descriptors.

Bubble hash is made with no solvents, using nested nylon bags with progressively smaller holes to filter smaller and smaller chunks. The bags are filled with raw material and then shaken under ice water. The highest quality hash reaches the final container with particles sized under 100 microns. The hash then dries for about a week before it is usable.

Although you can technically “dab” bubble hash, you should still be sure to clean your device afterword as it still contains quite a few impurities.

Ice wax

Ice wax is the old school version of live resin. While bubble hash usually uses trim, ice wax is freshly frozen plant material. This produces a higher potency and much more flavorful hits.

Dry sift

Dry sift is a type of hash made similarly to bubble hash and ice wax but without the water. Often the cannabis is frozen and then gently moved across a silkscreen with the dry sifted hash collecting underneath.

Some industrial trimmers include a dry sift which allows for bulk kief collection during a crop harvest.

Hand rolling

Probably the first hash ever, hand rolling happens fairly automatically when you are trimming marijuana. The resin comes off on your hands and can be scrubbed off to produce a potent form of hash. It’s more of a byproduct of trimming than an intentional extraction method.

Grinder Kief

Although not generally thought of as hash yet, kief is a slightly less pure form of the same stuff. It has already been filtered, it just needs a little heat and pressure to solidify. Kief includes the trichomes that come off when you are grinding cannabis bud.

Many grinders include a kief catcher. This is probably the most common way people collect kief. The kief can then be used for various purposes including pressing it to turn it into hash, smoking directly, or even making “caviar”, a type of joint which drizzles a sticky variant of concentrate and covers it in kief.

Pressed Hash

Pressed hash is kief that’s been lightly compressed and heated. This produces small powdery bricks that are brown in color. This can be consumed via combustion, similar to traditional weed, although the taste will be more enjoyable with a vaporizer.

Terms for consistencies

There are lots of different densities, firmness, and textures to cannabis extracts, and reasons to prefer some over the others. Thus, an entirely new category of terms was born. Let’s break them down.

Shatter or ice

One of the most commonly sought forms of modern hash is known as shatter, or sometimes ice. As you might guess from the name, this has a very hard and brittle consistency, with little to no viscosity. The pieces are usually semi-transparent, with lighter colors generally signifying a higher quality (though this cannot be relied upon fully).

Shatter can be produced with a variety of solvents and extraction methods. In the process, most fats and lipids are removed, thus creating the firm and stable texture. It is often sought after by people who use portable vaporization devices because it is easy to work with without getting sticky, although if it’s warm out or you hold it for too long it will still melt.

Shatter can also often be of a very high quality and potency, although it is generally more lacking in terpenes (what provides most of the unique taste of each strain) compared to some other consistencies. It varies by batch, however.

Wax

Wax is another term you’ll encounter. While it is sometimes used to refer to all new school hash, it also serves to describe a group of consistencies of hash. It is created by whipping the extract during the purging process. This introduces air bubbles which creates a crumbly or butter-like consistency often called budder.

Crumble

Crumble is a dry and flaky type of wax. It can also be a powder.

Budder

Budder is another wax consistency. It is a semi-solid, cream-like substance, similar to peanut butter or jelly, depending on the variant. 

Sometimes this consistency is achieved intentionally, but sometimes it is the result of a more transparent run crystallizing or “auto-buddering”. This is particularly prevalent in live rosin. It is generally considered undesirable when this occurs, but it does not mean that the product is ruined.

Conclusion

Whew, that’s a lot of terms! Hopefully, this helped you clear up a bit of confusion! If you have any terms we missed or want to add something, please be sure to sound off in the comments below! Thank you for reading!

On November 25, South Korea made history by becoming the first country in East Asia to legalize medical marijuana, albeit in a very limited form. This came as surprising news to many since their existing punishments for pot use are quite strict. Additionally, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had previously said it would not support any marijuana use, but recently changed its tune.

Republic of Korea set to implement a limited medical cannabis market despite harsh recreational possession and use penalties that remain

Existing laws provide penalties of up to 5 years in prison for the possession or use of cannabis, as well as 100,000 million Korean won or about $88,000 U.S. dollars. They’ve even stated that Koreans using marijuana outside of Korea could be prosecuted criminally after returning home.

All this despite the existing law allowing for drugs such as opium, morphine, and cocaine to be used medically in the case of rare and incurable diseases and when patients have no alternatives. So, we think it’s highly appropriate that they made the change and will now allow cannabis as well.

The Health and Welfare Committee of the Republic of Korea proposed amendments to the Act on the Management of Narcotic Drugs that were passed by South Korea’s National Assembly on September 25, 2018.

Hemp has primarily been recognized as a hallucinogenic in the past, and its use is allowed only for government and academic research. Recently however, hematological treatment of some diseases has been proven. It is unreasonable to limit the treatment uniformly without consideration of medical efficacy or the degree of risk, and it is problematic to block treatment opportunities of domestic patients. [The reason for the amendment is] to allow hemp to be used for medical purposes in order to guarantee the rights and provide the opportunity of treatment for patients.

Health and Welfare Chairperson
Republic of Korea Bill Acceptance Letter for Bill 2016596
November 14, 2018
Translated from Korean

Patients hoping to gain access to their medicine would need to apply through the Korea Orphan Drug Center. Originally established to get expensive medications for rare and incurable diseases in the hands of patients, the center will now take up granting or denying medical marijuana licenses on an individual case basis.

In addition to the approval of the Korea Orphan Drug Center, patients would need to obtain a prescription from a licensed doctor. They will then have access to a very limited product selection, which are expected to be primarily options which are low in THC and high in CBD.

Details about exactly how the product will be produced and distributed have yet to be released, but it’s fully expected that the regulations will be very restrictive. Still, this is a big step for a country that has had such a firm stance against cannabis.

Learn more about the new South Korean medical cannabis laws

You can read the full details on the amendment to the AMND here, but the page and PDF downloads are in Korean. In order to make it a little bit easier for you to look into the details of these new laws, we’ve translated those documents and provided them as free downloads below.

Other regional countries likely to follow suit

South Korea was the second country in Asia to legalize medically, the first being Sri Lanka. There are also major pushes to do so in Malaysia and Thailand. Now that South Korea has taken the lead, it’s expected that many will follow.

South Korea legalizing medical cannabis, even if it will be tightly controlled with limited product selection, represents a significant breakthrough for the global cannabis industry. The importance of Korea being the first country in East Asia to allow medical cannabis at a federal level should not be understated. Now it’s a matter of when other Asian countries follow South Korea, not if.

Vijay Sappani, CEO of Ela Capital in Toronto
Via MJBizDaily

Hopefully the future does indeed hold more countries legalizing both medically and recreationally throughout Asia and the rest of the world.

Utah voters approved Proposition 2, The Utah Medical Cannabis Act, on November 6th, 2018. It passed by a significant majority of 52.75% to 47.25%, a difference of about 60,000 votes in an election with just over one million votes. But lawmakers already overwrote it on December 3rd, giving it far stricter rules before it ever had a chance to go into effect.

The Utah Medical Cannabis Act passed

The act was designed to create a process for patients to receive medical marijuana cards as well as stipulating conditions under which people are allowed to grow and sell the plant. 

The list of qualifying illnesses is a bit more restrictive than many other states we’ve seen legalize medically, but it’s a decent start and less restrictive than one might expect coming out of such a state.

Following legislative changes to the bill, it will only allow seven dispensaries statewide and will prohibit patients from growing their own supply, even if they are hundreds of miles from the nearest dispensary.

Despite voters lining up to voice their discontent with compromise, the bill was passed virtually unopposed by lawmakers, 60-13 in the Utah House and 22-4 in the Senate.

In effect December 1

The act contained a few changes that take effect almost immediately. Among them:

• Affirmative defense – when someone is prosecuted for a marijuana-related offense between the passing of Prop 2 and medical cards being made available, that individual may not be prosecuted as long as they assert that they would be eligible for a medical card when it is made available. (58-37-3.7)
• Probable cause – the visible presence of cannabis or paraphernalia no longer constitutes probably cause for a search. (26-60b-204)

Both of these went into effect December 1, 2018, and were not altered by the compromise bill.

The Utah Medical Cannabis Act

• In the original bill, individual counties weren’t allowed to ban dispensaries or grow facilities. (4-41b-405) The compromise bill effectively allows for this since there will be only seven total dispensaries.
• Landlords may not refuse to rent on the basis of a medical marijuana card. (26-60b-110). This is not affected by the compromise.
• Medical cannabis is exempt from sales tax. (59-12-104.7)
• Maximum of two ounces of flower or ten grams of concentrate per two-week period per licensed citizen. This would be tracked in a statewide database, so unlike some states, you would not be able to simply visit a different dispensary.

Changes no one asked for

Despite the LDS Church spending huge amounts in order to make their position on Prop 2 abundantly clear, voters still chose to pass it by a significant majority of 52.75% to 47.25%. Yet, the law that actually goes into effect will be much closer to what the LDS Church wanted all along than what voters actually approved and voted on.

The Utah State Legislature was already planning to overwrite the will of the people before Prop 2 even passed. Calling it a “compromise” (the existing legislation looked to already be a compromise heavily favoring opponents, but I suppose my bias is obvious), House Speaker Greg Hughes has been working with the sponsors of Proposition 2 and its major opponents such as the Utah Medical Association and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to produce a replacement bill.

The legislature convened on December 3rd for a special session to consider the bill. Given that over 90% of the legislature are members of the LDS church, it’s no surprise that the bill passed virtually unopposed, 60-13 in the House and 22-4 in the Senate.

“Compromise” Changes

The main effects of the compromise are to reduce the already too low number of qualifying illnesses, outlaw growing almost everywhere, and ensure that the dispensaries are a state-run monopoly much like the liquor stores in Utah.

The changes to proposition 2 completely removed the right of patients to grow cannabis on their own property. Only patients over 100 miles from a dispensary would have been allowed to grow their own, so this change only serves to deny medication to people who have no other access to it. What’s the positive effect of this? I’m stumped. People 100 miles from a dispensary are not likely to be in such close proximity that growing on your own property should be outlawed.

The new bill also eliminates private dispensaries. Instead of giving licenses, the state will run all cannabis stores as a government-owned, legally enforced monopoly enterprise. There will be only seven dispensaries, state-wide, and ten grow facilities.

Proposition 2 originally included specific provisions for licensing growers and sellers in a way that would not create such a monopoly. The effects of state-controlled stores are already well known and despised by Utah residents, as liquor stores cannot be privately owned there. The result is some of the highest liquor prices in the nation and liquor stores that are few and far between, and all woefully lacking in selection.

We can definitely expect to see very similar results in state-run dispensaries. Don’t be surprised when Utah has the highest weed prices in the nation, and the worst selection.

On top of these two already massive changes to what Utah voters approved, the new bill also alters the language which would have allowed medical professionals to recommend cannabis. Under the new phrasing, it’s quite possible that a medical practitioner could be prosecuted for prescribing marijuana. This is likely an unintentional oversight in the language of the act, but it opens up a whole new and ridiculous line of argument for overzealous prosecutors.

Backlash

The bill was rammed through following a five and a half hour hearing which took place at the Utah state legislature one week prior. At the hearing, nearly every public comment voiced was in support of Prop 2 being implemented exactly as it was voted on.

Former Mayor Rocky Anderson had scathing remarks for the legislature prior to their passing the bill. He said this in a statement about the possibility of legal action against the legislature:

Although initiative statutes may be amended or repealed by the Legislature, the almost immediate extreme undermining of numerous provisions of Proposition 2 at the behest of The Church of Jesus Christ is anti-democratic and contemptuous of the … recognition in the Utah Constitution that the people are to have the power to enact legislative changes

Former Mayor Rocky Anderson, attorney at law
via SLTrib

The changes did go through, and Rocky Anderson did indeed file his lawsuit that same day, almost immediately, tweeting this the following day:

Utah residents are keenly aware that West Wendover recently legalized recreational sales. At just 90 minutes from Salt Lake, For many Utah residents, that’s going to be less of a pain than dealing with the arcane Utah legislation.

And of course, it goes without saying that this legislation will be quite a boon to the black market.

On the bright side

Despite Proposition 2 not going into effect as it was voted in, even the so-called compromise will be miles better than the cannabis situation in South Korea. At least it provides some medicine to some people who need it. It’s at least a start, and hopefully things will continue to move in the right direction.

• View the full text of the original Utah Medical Cannabis Act
• View the full text of the newly revised Utah Medical Cannabis Act